The Dillon tribune., 1887-11-11

The law prohibiting the sale Of pictures
by a8iG>,! j.sl4f was passed to prevent
the paDir from being imposed upon ~
the exhibition of inferior works under cir
culnsranra+ calculated to deceive the
buyer Great Numbers, Of what the sales
men call genuine Oil p;iintinG5' have
been put upon the market in many ways
Of late years. aud although the sale has
recently fallen Off suylc"hat the n,an,l
facture Of them is still Il considerable
branch Of industry. The facilities for
their production are ample and the pro-
cesses b.: whc,. they are furnished at so
low q pric" are ingenious. There are two
kinds Of cheap pictures in oil: those pro-
luceu III the studios by artists Of various
degrees at ability, and those manufactured
i'll establishments devoted to the business
m q large scale which ,nrn out d'ipi-
Gates Of an oil painting jus. as similar
concerns in other branches OF industry
turn out hats. coats and shoes. Paintings
Of the first named class are called ''pot
boilers from their bein" rs II rule thrown
off by artists to furnish means to keep
the pot boiling
DEGREE or MERIT.
Such works. although generally show
ing evidences Of the haste with which they
Of merit They arc mostly sold in lie
auction rooms in the large cities. and
many artists. in the absence of more lu-
crativc employment. find their chief
source of support hy means of this class
of work. \ clever artist can paint Il toll
eiably attractive canvas in u coHlpura-
lively short time, and although he may
put into it little Of The ii.n.-iEution and
poetry and careful thought Which he
would bestow upon Il work for one Of the
regular exhibitions Of the season. his
technical facility will enable him to make
u Salable picture Of it. The visitor to The
smaller auction rooms ard art stores will
often find on exhibition pot boilers from
the studios of well known artists. These
have been gathered by the picture dealers.
who arc well acquainted with the sources
of supply and with the worth OF ready
money to the impecunious artist. Some.
times the pictures are sold OH account Of
the painter; sometimes they have been
bought outright at Il low rate by tho
auctioncer. who offers them at his picture
sales until buyer is found who will nay
him profit.
What are technically known as "b,lck-
eyes'' are works of u different class.
These are produced in great numbers ut
establishments in several Of the large
cities. Girls who have been trained to
the degree Of mechanical skill necessary
for making Il copy Of the picture before
them, Or rather that part of it which is
given them to duplicate. show remarka-
bio facility in accomplishing their task.
In some OF the workshops the walls are
covered with strips Of canvas, upon which
the copyists are busily at work. One
paints the sky anu the distant effects: an
other follows with the foreground: an
other paints the figures. and still another
finishes the picture. The work is done
with great rapidity, hut the result, rs
might be expected, is not pleasing to an
artistic eye. Yet the facility attained by
constant practice Is such that the rude
copies of landscape thus produced bear
sufficient resemblance to the original to
give them Il market value rs pictures
One of the largest manufactures OF
cheap paintings III this country is in New
York. \ three story building is devoted
to the business and when the demand
was ri It's height, Il few years ago. nearly
l,OOO pictures week were turned ont.
some Of the processes employed are pc
Culiar ,o these manufacturers. and the
upper story. which is the .'stndio." or
truSiOn. The doors are kept locked. and
no one except those employed in tho cs-
tahlishment is allowed to enter.
WORK OF the ''sruDIo.''
The first step in the production of tho
brilliant landscape in y gilt frame which
is to be the subject Of the auctioneer ur
the picture l"d.ller is the preparation Of
the canvas. This is done by means Of u
is.l,s
ton cloth with Il mixture of glue and
whiting and gives tu it something Of the
firMl,ess and appearance OF canvas. Tho
cloth is then thoroughly dried and is then
ready for the Stretcher or inner frame.
The s,retchers are produced by an ingeni-
Gus machine. which shapes. joins and
fastens them With great rapidly. aud hy a
third machine. which is tended by Il small
boy "f artistic prcliviiies. the cloth is
quickly fastened upon the strc,chcr and
made ready tor the coming landscape.
Next comes the work of the studio. -
There one finds II line of girls. their dresses
splashcu with l.'inr, and their general a,-
pearance in other respects quite il. con-
trast with the youn.: women Il, the Art
Students league or tho ideal woman art
list in well appointed studio. On the
walls. within easy reach. hang stencils of
various patterns which the girls have
learned /" use with great rlpidity.
The process employed is similar to what
is known as The"rem painting, and also
rs Poonah or Oriental Painting. by The
use Of II kind Of stencil the utlincs aud
principal! figures in the landscape are one
after another put upon the rlo,h. and the
picture Then passes inin the hands Of !,
more advanced painter for compile, ion.
\, few >kilIIul touches with her hvusl,
supply the deficiencies left h.: The use III
the stencil. and after Il plentiful supply
nt Nnrnish and Il suitable exposure in ,ht
drying room. The picture is ready fol
market. The frames are made Ivy ma.
chincry in tho story below the studio. =
They ar" much thinner than they uppc;,,